Azure Weekly Newsletter Issue #319

powered by endjin

If you have any content you'd like to contribute to the newsletter, please tweet @AzureWeekly or ping an email to AzureWeekly@endjin.com.

Interested in Power BI? Sign up to our sister newsletter Power BI Weekly to receive all the week's Power BI news.

@HowardvRooijen | @endjin

AI + Machine Learning

Covering: Anomaly detector, Azure Bot Service, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Open Datasets, Bing APIs, Cognitive Services, Computer Vision, Content moderator, Custom vision, Data Science Virtual Machines, Face, Form Recogniser, Immersive Reader, Ink Recogniser, Language Understanding (LUIS), Machine Learning Studio, Microsoft Genomics, ML.NET, Personaliser, Project Cortex, QnA Maker, Speaker Recognition, Speech-to-Text, Speech translation, Text Analytics, Text to Speech , Translator Speech, Translator Text

• On Tech Community blog, Wolfgang Pauli walks through Reducing the distance to your Azure ML remote compute jobs

Analytics

Covering: Apache Spark for HDInsight, Apache Storm for HDInsight, Azure Analysis Services, Azure Data Explorer, Azure Data Share, Azure Databricks, Azure Stream Analytics, Azure Synapse Analytics, Data Catalog, Data Factory, Data Lake Analytics, Event Hubs, HDInsight, .NET for Apache Spark, R Server for HDInsight, Azure Purview

• On the Azure blog, Tom Keane (@tomwkeane) discusses how to Deepen the value chain for geospatial earth imagery on cloud using Azure Orbital
• The Azure Updates Team announces that Azure Data Factory just became generally available in two more regions
• On SQL Server Central, Diponkar Paul blogs about Reading Stored Procedure Output Parameters in Azure Data Factory
• On the Microsoft BI Tools blog, Joost van Rossum (@ssisjoost) runs through how to Hide activity input and output from log in Azure Data Factory
• Wee Hyong Tok runs through the Azure Data Factory Product April 2021 Updates - At a Glance
• Manoj Raheja explains how to Get Started with Azure Data Explorer using Apache Spark for Azure Synapse Analytics
• On the MSSQL Tips site, Fikrat Azizov explains how to Analyze real-time data streams with Azure Synapse Analytics and Cosmos DB

Compute

Covering: Azure CycleCloud, Azure Dedicated Host, Azure Functions, Azure VMware Solution by CloudSimple, Batch, Cloud Services, Linux Virtual Machines, SAP HANA on Azure Large Instances, Service Fabric, Virtual Machines, Virtual Machine Scale Sets

• Barbara Forbes (@Ba4bes) explains how to Create a secure GitHub webhook to trigger an Azure PowerShell Function
• The Azure updates team announces that Azure Backup supports backup and restore of Azure Dedicated Host is generally available and Backup & restore of Azure VM Scale Sets with flexible orchestration is now supported in public preview
• Zachary Cavanell asks: Which Virtual Machine is best for your workload in Azure?
• On the Azure blog, Reza Rahman writes about New solutions for Oracle WebLogic on Azure Virtual Machines

Containers

Covering: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Red Hat OpenShift, CNAB, CNCF, Container Instances, Container Registry, Porter, WSL, Web App for Containers

• Geert Baeke (@GeertBaeke) discusses Using Kyverno for Kubernetes Policies
• Craig Peters (@peterscraig) is Busting the Myths around Kubernetes Deprecation of Dockershim
• Daniel Neumann (@neumanndaniel) walks through Detecting SNAT port exhaustion on Azure Kubernetes Service
• On SQL Server Central, Carla Abanes covers some Considerations for Running SQL Server on Kubernetes

Databases

Covering: Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for MariaDB, Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Database Edge, Azure Cache for Redis, SQL Data Warehouse, SQL Server on virtual machines, SQL Server Stretch Database, Table storage

• Stanislav Zhelyazkov (@StanZhelyazkov) shares some Tips on creating Azure policies for Azure SQL Databases
• On SQL Server Central, Rajendra Gupta (@rajendragupta16) covers how to Query Audit data in Azure SQL Database using Kusto Query Language (KQL)
• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Mark Brown provides an Intro to Cosmos DB

Developer Tools

Covering: App Configuration, Azure Lab Services, CLIs, Developer tool integrations, SDKs, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio Online

• Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) writes about Az Next – An AI-powered interactive assistant Azure CLI

DevOps

Covering: Azure Artifacts, Azure Boards, Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, Azure Repos, Azure Test Plans, Azure DevTest Labs, DevOps tool integrations

• On the Microsoft DevOps blog, Martina Hiemstra talks about Delivery Plans 2.0 – We got Style
• Steven Murawski (@StevenMurawski) runs through Building Your First GitHub Action
• On Channel 9, Victoria Almazova talks about DevSecOps: bringing security into your DevOps practice on Azure Azure Enablement
• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) covers Azure DevOps Pipeline and Image Builder
• Sharon Hart describes Controlled Automated Blue-Green Deployment with Azure App Service Slots
• Shiran Rubin runs through how to Leverage Azure DevOps pipelines to build Python packages.

Hybrid

Covering: Azure Arc, Azure Stack

• The Azure Updates Team announces Azure Monitor container insights support for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes extension model

Identity

Covering: Azure Active Directory (AD), Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure Active Directory Domain Services

• Alex Simons (@Alex_A_Simons) highlights how to Confidently modernize to cloud authentication with Azure AD staged rollout and Azure AD Verifiable Credentials
• Anthony Bartolo (@WirelessLife) provides an AzUpdate: AD FS sign-in activity in Azure AD reporting, Azure Cost Management updates and more
• Luise Freese highlights the Microsoft Graph Fundamentals learning path
• Veera Reddy Gangala describes Configuring On-Premise data gateway with new user in Azure AD tenant
• Inderjit Rana provides Guidance for using Azure Storage Explorer with Azure AD authorization for Azure Storage Data Access

Integration

Covering: Azure API for FHIR, Event Grid, Logic Apps, Service Bus

• Veera Reddy Gangala describes the Logic App utility to perform bulk operations on workflow runs
• On the Codit blog, Tom Kerkhove (@TomKerkhove) runs through Monitoring Azure Service Bus Topic Subscriptions
• Michael Crump (@mbcrump) walks through How to run Logic Apps in a Docker container

Internet of Things

Covering: Azure Digital Twins, Azure IoT Central, Azure IoT Edge, Azure IoT Hub, Azure IoT solution accelerators, Azure Maps, Azure Sphere, Azure Time Series Insights, IoT DevKit, WildernessLabs, Windows 10 IoT Core Services

• On Channel 9, Scott Hanselman & Mike Hall walks through Building a balancing robot with Azure Sphere
• Jonatan Meczyk discusses IoT Asset discovery based on FW logs

Learning

Covering: Microsoft Certifications, Azure Certifications, Microsoft Learning Paths, Certification Pathway Information

• Tobias Zimmergren & Jussi Roine (@CtrlAltAzure) discuss: So you want to become an Azure developer? Get the AZ-204!
• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) discusses his Experience with the AZ-140 Exam

Management and Governance

Covering: Automation, Azure Advisor, Azure Backup, Azure Blueprints, Azure Lighthouse, Azure Managed Applications, Azure mobile app, Azure Monitor, Azure Policy, Azure Resource Manager, Azure Service Health, Azure Site Recovery, Cloud Shell, Cost Management, Microsoft Azure portal, Scheduler, Azure Purview

• On PowerShell Magazine, Ravikanth Chaganti (@ravikanth) provides an Introduction to PowerShell for Azure Resource Manager
• The Azure updates team is Announcing platform support migration of Azure Cloud Services classic to Azure Resource Manager, that the New Azure Cloud Services deployment model now generally available, that Azure Purview is now available in the Central India region and finally that Azure Automation is now available in South India
• Brad Watts walks through Exploring Anomalies with Log Analytics using KQL
• Carter Socha explains how to Convert your favorite App Insights Workbooks
• Mark Heath (@mark_heath) walks through Deploying an Azure Function App with Bicep
• Trevor Davis (@vtrevordavis) runs through how to Deploy Azure VMware Solution
• Thomas Thornton (@tamstar1234) covers Importing Terraform state at scale in Azure
• Joonas Westlin (@JoonasWestlin) walks through how to Track activity and sub-orchestrator progress in Azure Durable Functions orchestrators

Media

Covering: Azure Media Player, Content Protection, Encoding, Live and On-Demand Streaming, Media Analytics, Media Services, Video Indexer

• No content this week

Migration

Covering: Azure Database Migration Service, Azure Migrate, Data Box

• On Channel 9, Mohamed Kabiruddin (@mdkabir) talks about how to Get Started with the New Database Migration Guides to Migrate Your Databases to Azure
• On the Whizlabs blog, Sudip Sengupta explains How to Migrate Your On-Prem SQL Server DB to Azure Cloud
• Also on Channel 9, Steven Murawski and Damian Brady discuss Migrating to App Service
• On the Azure Developer Community Blog, Stephane Eyskens (@stephaneeyskens) talks about The Azure Data Architecture Map
• On the Azure blog, Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) talks about how to Leverage enterprise-scale reference implementations for your cloud adoption
• On Tech Community blog, Thomas Maurer (@thomasmaurer) highlights the Cloud Adoption Framework Enterprise-Scale Series and Livestream
• Aidan Finn (@joe_elway) walks through Everything You Need to Know About Azure Infrastructure – March 2021 Edition

Mobile

Covering: App Service (Mobile), Mobile apps, Notification Hubs, Visual Studio App Centre, Xamarin

• On Channel 9, Maddy Leger (@maddyleger1) talks about A Journey to .NET MAUI
• Also on Channel 9, Maksym Koshovyi talks about App Localization (Xamarin Community Toolkit)

Networking

Covering: Application Gateway, Azure Bastion, Azure DNS, Azure ExpressRoute, Azure Firewall, Azure Firewall Manager, Azure Front Door, Azure Internet Analyzer, Azure Private Link, Content Delivery Network, Load Balancer, Network Watcher, Traffic Manager, Virtual Network, Virtual WAN, VPN Gateway, Web Application Firewall

• No content this week

Security

Covering: Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Information Protection, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Security Center

• The Azure Updates Team runs through the Azure Security Center public preview updates for March 2021 and the Azure Security Center general availability updates for March 2021
• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) delves into Monitor Azure Storage Account Activity Log With Azure Sentinel
• Younes Khaldi describes How to use Azure Sentinel for Incident Response, Orchestration and Automation
• Hesham Saad describes Group-IB Threat Intelligence and Attribution Connector in Azure Sentinel
• On Channel 9, David Trigano and David Brookler discuss Granular Permissions for Azure SQL Dynamic Data Masking
• Pierre Roman (@pierreroman) walks through Leveraging PowerShell SecretManagement to generalize a demo environment

Storage

Covering: Archive Storage, Avere vFXT for Azure, Azure Data Lake Store, Azure FXT Edge Filer, Azure HPC Cache, Azure NetApp Files, Blob Storage, Disk Storage, File Storage, Managed Disks, Queue Storage, Storage Accounts, Storage Explorer, StorSimple

• Andrew Coughlin describes Single Forest Multiple Domain Setup Troubleshooting

Web

Covering: API apps, API Management, App Service (Web), Azure Cognitive Search, Azure SignalR Service, Azure Spring Cloud, Web apps

• On the Azure podcast, Mike Budzynski (@mbudzynski) discusses API Management
• On the DEV site, Anthony Chu (@nthonyChu) talks about Azure Static Web Apps
• Sajeetharan Sinnathurai explains how to Publish an Angular Application to Azure static web apps with Azure Devops
• Anthony Chu (@nthonyChu) introduces The Azure Static Web Apps CLI
• The Azure Updates Team announces that the Updated App Service Authentication portal experience is now generally available
• On Code Project, Dashaun Carter lists 5 Reasons Redis Enterprise on Azure is the Right Move for App Developers
• Arjav Dave (@arjavdave) runs through How to Set Up Azure CDN For Lower Latency and Bandwidth Consumption

Windows Virtual Desktop

Covering: Windows Virtual Desktop

• The Azure Updates Team announces that Azure Monitor for Windows Virtual Desktop is generally available and that the Start VM on connect feature for Windows Virtual Desktop is in public preview

Useful Links

• Azure Resource Inventory - Azure Resource Inventory is a powerful script written in PowerShell to generate an Excel report of any Azure Environment you have read access
• Azure Quickstart Templates - Learn how to deploy to Azure using ARM Templates. Over 850 examples in this repo.
• Azure CNAB Quickstarts Library - You can deploy to the Cloud, on Prem and on the Edge using CNAB & Porter. This library provides a number of quickstart templates to help you get started, fast!
• Power BI Weekly - Interested in Power BI? Sign up to our sister newsletter Power BI Weekly to receive all the week's Power BI news.
• Azure Resources - A fantastic collection of resources contained in this repo. Issue a PR if you have resources to share. Managed by Azure MVP Gregor Suttie.
• Azure Charts - Azure Charts is a set of auto-rebuilt charts to keep you updated on Azure changes, news, stats. Public updates, RSS channels and web pages are used as data sources
• The Developer’s Guide to Microsoft Azure (2nd Edition) - ebook from Microsoft showcasing architectural approaches and common design patterns you face when building modern applications.
• Azure Virtual Datacenter - ebook from Microsoft highlighting an approach to isolation, security, and trust in the Microsoft cloud.
• Cyber Security Demystified - ebook from Microsoft describing how to keep your organisation safe.
• Microsoft's What is Azure poster - a visual overview of Azure's services and features.
• Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure - a free ebook from Microsoft Press, by Michael S. Collier and Robin E. Shahan.
• Data Science in the Cloud with Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and R - a free ebook on Azure Machine Learning, by Stephen F. Elston.
• Protecting Data in Microsoft Azure - a whitepaper that describes the various mechanism you can you can leverage for managing sensitive data in the Azure platform.
• Azure Architecture Center - guidance from the Patterns & Practices team covering API Design, API implementation, Autoscaling, Background jobs, CDN, Caching, Data partitioning, Monitoring and diagnostics, Retry, Scalability and availability.
• Azure Architect's Reference - if you are an architect responsible for building an application on Azure, or are trying to figure out how you could migrate an application and need to dig deep into the workload, cost, security, capacity, availability, deployment and operational modelling this invaluable resource should be your first stop. An open source project, with contributions from several experienced architects, it gathers data from many different references into a single, useful guide that is constantly updated by the community.
• Azure Table Storage Design Guide - a guide from the storage team.
• Azure infrastructure services implementation guidelines - key design and implementation guidelines for deploying an IT workload in Azure infrastructure services.
• Azure Speed Test - a simple web tool that measures the latency between you and Azure Datacenters to suggest which might be fastest for you location.
• Azure Websites Cheatsheet - everything you need to know about configuring & managing Azure Websites on a single page.
• Data Migration Assistant - enables you to upgrade to a modern data platform by detecting compatibility issues that can impact database functionality on your new version of SQL Server and Azure SQL Database. It recommends performance and reliability improvements for your target environment.
• Azure SQL DTU Calculator - a tool to help you determine the number of DTUs for your existing SQL Server database(s) as well as a recommendation of the minimum performance level and service tier that you need before you migrate to Azure SQL Database.
• Microsoft Azure Symbol/Icon Set - a set of Visio and PowerPoint shapes for use in architecture diagrams / presentations.
• Service Bus Explorer - a free and open source tool for managing and exploring Azure Service Bus(including Event Hubs).
• Best practices for designing Azure Resource Manager Templates - guidance based on the whitepaper 'World Class ARM Templates Considerations and Proven Practices'.
• Microsoft Cloud Networking for Enterprise Architects - a downloadable guide to Azure networking, covering topics such as cloud migration and networking for PaaS and SaaS services
• Whitepapers for Power BI - numerous whitepapers ranging various Power BI topics
• Azure Serverless Computing Cookbook - ebook from Microsoft, including use cases, hands-on steps, and tutorials for quickly configuring your own serverless environments.
• Executive Summary: Enterprise Cloud Strategy - executive summary of the 140-page e-book from Microsoft. Learn about the basics of adopting a cloud computing strategy for your enterprise.
• Migrating SQL Server to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance—A Step-by-Step Guide - ebook from Microsoft providing breakdown of tactical steps for implementing a quick, simple, and low-impact data migration with Azure SQL Database Managed Instance.
• Azure Backup Deep Dive Whitepaper - a deep dive by Adin Ermie and Charbel Nemnom describing Azure Backup
• Azure Stack: An extension of Azure - whitepaper from Microsoft detailing how you can extend Azure Stack to make Azure services available on-premises
• Azure Strategy and Implementation Guide - For Azure users - ebook from Microsoft outlining recommended general architecture and cloud design principles, DevOps, approaches to service management, and overall governance.
• Azure Data Factory: SSIS in the Cloud - eBook from Microsoft explaining why you would want to migrate your existing SSIS workloads to Azure Data Factory and addressing common considerations and concerns. Includes technical details of creating an Azure-SSIS IR and then walk-throughs of how to upload, execute, and monitor your packages through Azure Data Factory
• Parallel Virtual File Systems on Microsoft Azure - ebook from Microsoft documenting the results of a series of performance tests on Azure to see how scalable Lustre, GlusterFS, and BeeGFS are
• Build and deploy a multi-container application in Azure Service Fabric - ebook from Microsoft which shows how to create a sample multi-container application using ASP.NET Core and Docker and deploy it on an Azure Service Fabric cluster.
• Azure ebook/whitepaper resources - White papers, analyst reports, and e-books landing page with an abundance of extra resources.
• Farmer - This is a DSL for ARM template creation - "Making repeatable Azure deployments easy"!